World’s first cloned village is now open to visitors

When you think of China and its inhabitants you never know what to expect next. They always come up with unusual and surprising things. One of the most impressive creations is the world’s first cloned village. Indeed, the Chinese copied an entire village. It’s Hallstatt village, a UNESCO protected heritage gem in Austria and its exact replica can now be seen outside of Huizhou in Guangdong Province.

HallStatt Austria Europe Picture

China Minmetals Corporation first announced their intention to begin this massive project in June, 2011. Only one year later the village is open to visitors. It was a $940 million plan and they managed to create something that no other country would ever dream of doing. The cloned village is only accessible by boat and treacherous alpine trails. The idea of cloning an entire village in a place where it doesn’t belong to is not something that everyone agrees with.

HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture

And the original.

HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture
HallStatt Austria Europe Picture

Even though some people think that this whole project was not an appropriate idea, the reality is that the cloned village is a unique place in the world, despite the fact that it’s an exact replica of something that originally existed somewhere else. Of course, you can copy the buildings and everything else but you can’t really copy the culture, the traditions and the atmosphere. This is still a subject to de debated but the tourists seem to be very curious about this place and very interested to see it with their own eyes and maybe compare it to the original.